The elections for the new West Surrey Shadow Unitary Authority will be held on Thursday 7th May. Registered local government electors will be able to vote for two candidates in each electoral ward. Effingham will be in the Horsleys Ward which will include Effingham, East Horsley, West Horsley, Ripley, Ockham, and Wisley. The polling station for Effingham voters will be at the King George V Hall and will be open between 7.00 and 22.00. There are eleven candidates for the Horsleys Ward who are listed here.
Those elected will go on to form the new Unitary Authority (West Surrey Council). The new council will replace the Surrey County Council and the Boroughs of Waverley, Guildford, Woking, Surrey Heath, Runnymede and Spelthorne. These County and Borough councils will cease to exist on 1 April 2027.
The councillors elected in May will initially form shadow authorities, working with existing councils to prepare for the new councils to take over delivering all local government services from 1 April 2027. From 1 April 2027, the new unitary councils will formally take over delivering all local government services in their areas. Councillors elected in May 2026 will serve a five‑year term, remaining in office until 2031.
If you need to register to vote or change your voting arrangements the Application Deadline Dates with links are:
Application deadline to register to vote if not already registered is 11.59pm on Monday 20 April 2026
Application deadline for postal voting or to amend an existing arrangement is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026
Application deadlines for proxy voting or for a voter authority certificate (needed if elector does not have a form of accepted photo identification (ID) is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026